The reborn La Riva label has its origins in 1776. For over a century it was known for wines from the great pagos of Jerez, until the brand was absorbed into Domecq in the 1970s and gradually disappeared. In 2016, when it seemed destined to be forgotten, Willy Pérez and Ramiro Ibáñez brought it back as both homage and statement – a return to the vineyards (pagos) as the true source of identity in Jerez.
The two friends met while studying oenology in Cádiz in the mid-2000s. Ramiro went on to taste and vinify fruit from almost every single vineyard in Sanlúcar and Jerez while working at the local co-op, an experience that convinced him the secret lay in the diversity of albariza soils. Willy returned to his family’s bodega, where his father Luis Pérez had already turned away from industrial sherry production in favour of traditional viticulture and forgotten grape varieties. Both became convinced that terroir – not cellar technique – is Jerez’s real strength.
La Riva embodies this philosophy. The goal is not to craft wines shaped by fortification or blending, but to let each vineyard’s chalk speak clearly. In a region long dominated by winemaking style over viticulture, this approach is both controversial and groundbreaking – but it is also the path to the future of sherry.
Rancho Riquelme is a 5-hectare site on the eastern edge of Pago Burujena, facing north with steep slopes and little topsoil. Here the bedrock of barajuelas lies close to the surface, its chalk laced with diatomaceous silica. This combination brings both intensity and freshness to palomino fino, yielding wines of tension and clarity.
The 2023 was harvested by hand in late August, the grapes pressed as whole clusters and fermented in 500-litre butts at ambient temperature with natural yeasts. Ageing took place for 12 months under flor, giving subtle biological character without losing purity. 12.5% alc..
Burujena Rancho Riquelme 2023 (La Riva)
In the glass the wine is straw yellow. The nose shows chalk, fennel, alnond and a whisper of sea breeze. In the mouth it is full (glyceric) and concentrated, marked by citrus zest and a salty mineral backbone, with a lingering finish.
Leave a Comment
